Of course, it's very unlikely the planet has no gold
left to give. And what is there will probably be worth a bit more
next year, the Macquarie analysts say. So, we're not running out
of gold. But miners may be.

Gold has had a terrible year so far, dropping to a five-year low
in July to $1,080 an ounce, but analysts at Macquarie think the
price could rally in 2016.

Working out what the stuff is really worth long-term is near
impossible, because it is not consumed by industry in the same
way as other commodities such as oil and iron ore.

It sits in the gap between currency and commodity, as Macquarie
points out, and its price is affected by varying factors such as
confidence in the global financial system, inflation, and fashion
trends.

At current prices you would need about $6.7 trillion to buy all
the world's gold. But you may need a bit more cash than that next
year.

Here are the top lines from the note:

"Price weakness is likely to continue up until the Fed rate
hike is confirmed (we expect September with an outside chance of
December) with <$1,000/oz possible."

"We expect US rate rises to be slower than consensus and
similarly long-term rates to peak at a lower level."

"On the 'fundamentals' Chinese and Indian demand should pick
up as their economies recover into 4Q, though China's slowdown
remains a key risk."

"Central bank buying is likely to be subdued by recent
standards although will remain firmly on the buy side."

"We think the gold price could rally into 2016 though the
process will be slow given investor disillusionment."